Leader of the Pack (Celtic Thunder)
by Norla
Summary: The guys of Celtic Thunder are having a difficult time finding themselves again. The new Emmett, Keith and Ryan, think they should be leading the group. Who is their natural leader and will he step up? A Comet story.


Hi! Norla again! The Comet story that was lurking in my head, kind of came to life on me. With any luck that will be the last one for a while. Hopefully all the potential stories and the guys behave at least until July when I really do have time! Thanks for taking your own precious time to read this.

They (Celtic Thunder) are not mine, but I will play with them gently and return them unharmed.

Leader of the Pack

Colm POV

Colm: Hey Em, SAVE ME!

Em: Lol, can't I'm working.

Colm: The hell you are! Come save me!

Em: What's up? Is insanity ruling the rehearsal?

Colm: Well, the only one acting her age is Jorja.

I'd say that insanity wasn't just ruling, it's

winning. This is why I say… HELP ME!

Em: Hahaha have fun. See you later. It's my turn

to cook, bring your appetite.

Colm: Great, you mean bring a pizza. Luv U

Em: Ya jerk. Luv U 2

I looked over at the baby sleeping peacefully in her seat. I envied her. This was the worst rehearsal yet, and they had all been pretty dismal the last few weeks. For some reason we couldn't get along with each other. Well, actually, I'd pretty much bowed out. I wasn't about to argue with the boys, and listening to them, was actually getting old. I wondered if anyone would notice if I left.

"I would notice," Sharon said putting her hand on my shoulder.

I looked up at her with my eyes wide and questioning. I wondered if I'd said that last part out loud.

Sharon smiled down at me, "No, Colm, you didn't say anything out loud. Didn't you know? I'm a mind reader."

"That would actually, explain a lot," I said with a smile. "We're not getting' anythin' accomplished here and I've got a wicked headache."

"Go," she said. "I'll venture into World War… what number are they at?"

"I lost count," I said shaking my head. "It's Em's turn to cook supper, so I'm goin' to go get something to eat."

"Probably a smart idea," my boss said, "Then go home for a nap. You look exhausted."

"Thanks," I said standing and stretching. I gave Sharon a quick hug, and flashed her the smile that I knew she loved. "Tomorrow?"

"No, take the day off, I'm going to attempt to scare them a little." Sharon answered. "See you on Monday."

I grabbed my jacket and my backpack off of the floor and headed out the door, as it was closing I heard Sharon's voice, loudly demanding silence. The door clicked closed and I shook my head as I made my way to where I had locked my bike.

After a quick stop at Starbucks I went directly to the apartment that Emmet and I shared, unlocked the door, dropped my backpack and keys on the floor in the entrance and put my empty Starbucks cup on the key table. I crossed to the comfy couch that had been 'handed down' to us from Neil and Ryan when they moved into their smaller apartment. I sank back into the cushions as I looked around our apartment.

It wasn't a huge place but it had enough room that we could both co-exist in it without falling over each other, not that either of us would minded anyway. The nice chef's kitchen with the granite countertops and island were quite the find, and why we rented the place. The living room was airy with three big windows for the natural light. It only had one bathroom, but we coped. We each had our own room to escape into if we needed it, but we used only 'my' room for sleeping. In my opinion the second bedroom was so that Emmet could use it as a cover for his parents. He hadn't yet come out to them although I'm pretty sure that on some level they already knew that girls were not his 'thing.' I occasionally would suggest to Em that he say something, but his reaction, usually tears, confused me so I didn't push him.

My parents were not at all concerned that I was gay. They told me that they knew with 5 boys the chances of one of them being attracted to members of the same gender was almost a given. "Naturally," my mom had often said, usually in mid hug, "It would be the pretty one. It would be my Colm, the boy who has thousands of female fans chasing him down the street." My revelation had not been a surprise to her. After all I had been the child who wanted to help mom in the kitchen, which is probably why I'm pretty good at cooking. I'd never go hungry anyway. Shopping was, and still is, fun. I had many girl friends in high school and university that always wanted my opinion when they went looking for new clothes. Actually, come to think of it, many of the girls in CT do the same thing now, especially when we are on tour. Ask me about motors, and fixing things? Sorry, I'm as helpless as a kitten in that respect. Em's pretty decent at it, so we're good.

Speaking of kittens, I looked around for our cat. Usually CK, short for Celtic Kitty (yes, Emmet named her) met me at the door. "CK?" I called from my place on the sofa. I was too tired to go look for her. "CK?" A moment later she appeared and jumped up next to me purring and rubbing her face on my lap. "What were ye doin' Ceek?" I asked as I ran my hand lightly over her soft fur. She looked up at me and started kneading my leg. "Ok, keep your secrets. It's time for a nap." I lay down, resting my head on one of the decorator pillows that came with the couch. Definitely more Neil's taste than mine, but it was soft. After a second, CK jumped up next to my head on the pillow and yawned. "I agree," I told her and rolled to my side closing my eyes and waited for sleep.

Emmet POV

I shook my head as I put my phone down. Poor Colm. My Mr. Positive, my Mr. Silver Lining, my Mr. Conflict Really Stresses Me Out. Practices with Celtic Thunder had been full of conflict lately, which was strange as we had always managed to get along exceptionally well before. I knew that our/their lack of a leader was playing a huge role in the tension. There were a few, shall we say, strong, personalities who were vying for the top spot, specifically Keith, Ryan and E2 (the new Emmett).

It would never enter my Colm's head that he already was the natural leader of the group. Everyone had been drawn to him from the moment he first set foot in the practice studio. He was organized and punctual, and more importantly his opinion mattered to all the guys, and they always listened to his suggestions. Colm's level headed nature, probably from being #4 of 5 boys, was what the group needed. He was very serious about his work and expected perfection from himself and everyone around him. He was not unlike George in many ways. Except for the fact that he was absolutely adorable and I was the one lucky enough to call him mine.

I returned to my pile of papers. I was sifting through songs trying to find a great opener for my first solo album tour. It was nice to know that the choice was mine, although I was finding that I was missing having the guys to bounce ideas off of. I was trying to keep away from the traditional songs, the ones my CT fans knew me for, but I was aware that I would need a couple to grab and hold their interest. I worked hard for a couple more hours before frustration won and all the papers wound up fluttering to the floor. I knew I should pick them up. I knew that I should organize them again and keep focusing. I was meeting with the producer in the morning but right at that moment, I was done.

I gathered my stuff and headed out to my car. I was up for cooking tonight, which was stressful for me, because my Colm was an excellent cook, and even boiling eggs was challenging for me. I stopped at the market armed with my list and set out on the seemingly hopeless task of collecting everything that I needed. My thoughts kept floating back to his comment about getting pizza, maybe I should stop for takeout. At least it would be edible. My stubborn streak kicked in, no, damn it, I was going to do it! I would cook supper! Who was I kidding? Maybe I could sweet talk Colm into… no; he'd had a tough day too. I ended up abandoning my cart in favour of finding our favourite Thai restaurant.

"Ah, Mr. Emmet," Alayah, the owner greeted me. "Did you want the usual for you and Mr. Colm tonight?"

"Yah thanks Alayah," I said feeling a little sheepish. "The usual is perfect."

"Your turn to cook again already is it?" she asked as she wrote the food down on a note pad.

"Yes, I um, it is." I said. "I guess I really should take a few cooking classes."

"Oh no, Mr. Emmet," Alayah smiled. "I'm happy to do the cooking for you! Relax it will be about 20 minutes."

"Thanks," I said to her retreating form and took out my phone. I was surprised to see 16 messages spread between text and voice.

"Dude, it's me." Came Keith's voice," Is Colm ok?"

If that wasn't enough to make my heart beat a little faster the next message did for sure.

"Emmet? Where are you? Do you know where Colm is? I hope you are with him. Is he safe? If you are with him hug him for me. Oh it's Neil." There were similar messages from Ryan and from Damian.

I quickly pressed my Colm's contact number and listened fearfully as his phone went to voicemail. I tried texting him, to no avail. I tried the landline to our apartment, still nothing. It really wasn't like him to not answer. I tried to think logically. Where could he be that he wouldn't answer? The gym? No, he listened to his music when he was working out so he'd have his phone with him. Maybe he was at the pool swimming! Yes, that must be it, but these messages spanned almost 3 hours. Even Colm in as good shape as he was couldn't swim for 3 hours.

I was about to abandon the food and run out of the restaurant when Alayah came out with the meal packed neatly into a box. I quickly paid and nearly ran out to my car where I broke several speed limits and possibly the sound barrier getting back to our apartment.

Balancing the box of food, my work bag, and juggling my phone while trying to fight the ill feeling that was bubbling in my stomach I stuck my key in the lock and opened the door tripping immediately over Colm's backpack. I noticed a Starbucks cup on the key table and his keys were on the floor. I let out a breath of relief. He was here, somewhere. I put the box into the kitchen and then went in search of my Colm. Moments later I found him lying on the couch, curled into a little knot with CK cuddled around his head. He was sound asleep. I took a blanket out of the ottoman chest and spread it out over him. Then returned to the kitchen to unpack the food and find some wine that would go with it.

I moved as quietly as I could setting the table and arranging the food, opening and pouring the wine and then, added a couple of candles for atmosphere.

When everything was ready I went back into the living room to wake Colm up. CK, our cat, was curled protectively around his head and rewarded me with a silent hiss when I bent over to rouse him.

"Beat it fur ball," I said jokingly to the cat who started purring and trying to burrow into Colm's neck. I looked carefully at my boyfriend who was having some sort of a dream. I could see his eyes moving under his eyelids, and as quickly as it started the dream started turning into a nightmare. Colm started breathing harder and twitching slightly as whatever daemon he was encountering interrupted his peaceful slumber. Nightmares were not uncommon with him. He had them regularly and thankfully couldn't remember them when he woke up. CK tried to comfort him with purrs but I, not thinking, decided to wake him up in order to free him.

"Colm!" I said in my regular voice and reached down to stroke his face, usually enough to wake him, but this dream had a grip on him. "Colm!" I tried again shaking his shoulder slightly. It worked. He woke up, but in doing so he brought his fist up rather quickly and clocked me, hard, on my cheek near my nose and under my eye. I yelled falling backwards clutching my face.

"Emmet?" I heard Colm's voice question as he became fully conscious. "Em?" I heard him sit up, "Oh, god! Oh Em! I'm so sorry! Oh no!" The apology fell a little short as he started to chuckle under his breath as he got down on the floor next to me and tried to pry my hands off my face.

I let out a strangled sound as the pain started ebbing. I was going to have a good shiner from that. "Lesson learned," I whimpered. "Next time yer having a nightmare, I'm not going to touch ye! The boogeyman can eat ye!"

Colm started laughing and pulled me into a hug. I didn't resist. I let him gently hold and rock me. I'm no fool. Unfortunately that is how the others found us.

"Emmet! Colm?" a frantic voice called from the vicinity of the door. "Crap it's open! Colm! Emmet!"

"In here!" I called sounding very nasally as Neil appeared around the couch and found us on the floor. "Oh thank God!" He turned around and shouted "They're here! Both of them!" he then turned back to us. "Don' either of ye know how te answer a damn message? We've bin frantic, thinkin' the worst 'as 'appened to ye both!" His already heavy accent was amplified by his concern as he gave us 'the Neil look'. "What the 'ell is goin' on?"

"Nothin'," I answered sheepishly as I tenderly poked at my nose and cheek. "I'm sorry, I didn't answer. Yer messages all scared me, so I rushed home, and tripped over 'is backpack. Found 'im nappin' on the couch and then I went about gettin' supper together. I totally fergot about lettin' ye all know that he's fine. "I glanced over at Colm, who had retreated to the kitchen and was digging in the freezer. "He's got a hell of a right hook on him."

By this time Ryan and Damo had come in and were standing with Neil looking down at me. Damo reached out his hand and pulled me to my feet. I shook my head slightly to free the last of the cobwebs. I watched as Keith who calmly walked in the door carrying Jorja in her baby seat. He took note of the table set with two glasses of wine and some candles that were starting to melt down the sides.

"Not nearly enough places, "he commented calmly. "Not nearly enough food either. I guess it's up to me to fix that." With a dramatic sigh he set the baby seat down on the floor and pulled out his phone.

Neil however was not quite done yet. "And ye?" he directed at my Colm in the same voice.

"Me phone hasn't made a sound," Colm answered handing me a dish towel filled with ice and glancing around for his phone. "Muss be in me backpack. I remember lookin' at in when I went inta Starbucks." A quick check of his backpack revealed nothing, and Colm adopted a relatively concerned expression.

"Call it," I suggested from behind my ice pack.

The next thing I heard was a tinny voice. "Cute guy's phone that he left at Starbucks, Genevieve speakin'"

"Um, hi, this is, um, Colm. I guess I did leave my phone there."

"Guess so cutie," the tinny Genevieve's voice answered. "I'm here for another hour, if you trade me your phone number for your phone, that's thanks enough."

"Let me go git the phone," I grumbled dropping an ice cube from the towel onto my foot.

"Umm Genevieve, sweetie, yer on speaker phone, and me boyfriend really didn't like that suggestion." Colm said gently.

"Boyfriend," the voice sighed. "I should'a known. All the adorable ones…"

"Are so taken," I mumbled "Tell 'er we'll be right down."

"Yer not goin' anywhere," Ryan said firmly taking over my ice pack as another cube fell to the floor and he pushed me onto the sofa.

"Come on hunny," Damian said with a laugh as he swung his arm around Colm's shoulder. "I'm the only one cute enough ta pass fer yer boyfriend. " He blew a kiss at Keith who merely rolled his eyes and busied himself with baby Jorja.

"Love ya Em!" Colm called as the door closed behind him and Damo.

Ryan redirected my attention and he kinda scowled as he looked at my face and then gently probed my cheekbone, nose and eye socket. "I don' think anythin's broken," he announced. "We'll juss keep the swellin' down. Yer eye is gonna be a pretty colour in a couple days though."

"Good thing I had me pictures taken for me album this mornin'," I said pulling away from him. "I really am sorry about fergettin' ye."

"S'ok," Neil said sinking down onto the sofa. "I'm glad 'e came 'ome."

"So what's goin' on at the studio that made 'im, text me to save him and then fer 'im to come home early?" I asked.

"It's been, stressful," Ryan summed up.

"Me, Colm doesn't handle that well," I said softly.

"No kiddin," Keith said as he brought Jorja over to Neil and put her in his lap with a bottle. "But I've never seen 'im run away before."

"Tisn't like him," I agreed. I was anxious to talk to him and find out what had happened.

"E2," Keith said in an uncharacteristically bitter tone, "seems ta think that 'ees the boss."

"I think there are a lot of strong personalities in the group that want to be," I amended pulling away from Ryan's hand that was reaching toward my face again.

"Fair enough," Ryan said, and I wasn't sure if he was talking about the personalities comment or that I pulled away from his hand.

"True, "Keith said sadly. "George was such a natural leader with us. Bein' so much older n' us an all."

"That has nothing to do with it," I said. "George was the peacemaker. He was firm, but he didn't let any drama git in the way of a rehearsal. He was also very charismatic and we all loved him and respected him, and sought his approval." I paused, wondering if I dared. I took the chance. "Who do we all know that is like that? Who came in to the middle of us and was immediately the one we would turn to when George wasn't available. Who did we all gravitate to after George passed? Who took over that role naturally when we went to Australia, all that summer and fer the cruise in the fall? "

"Colm," all three of my friends admitted.

"Yah," I said "Colm."

Colm POV

"Apparently I was havin' a nightmare," I said to Damian in response to his question about why I hit Emmet. "He tried to wake me up all nice n' gentle, so I hit him,"

Damian's clear deep laugh rang out musically as we headed for the car he shared with Keith.  
"Is that what ya' learn when ye have so many brothers?" he asked. "Someone tries ta wake ya nicely and ya hit him? Me brother Emmett would probably have broken me arm if I tried hittin' 'im."

"It had ta have been in the nightmare," I said with a smile thinking about how my own brothers would have reacted to me trying to clobber them. "I don' ever remember them, which is probably a good thin'. I've scared Emmet more than a few times with me nightmares."

"So why'd ya run away this afternoon?" Damo asked as he started the car, and then turned and looked directly at me.

"I didn' run." I said, "Sharon let me go. I had a headache and I was gettin' tired of listenin' ta all the bickerin'."

"Ok, "Damo said and turned his attention back to the road as he pulled out into the traffic. "Sharon kinda made it sound like ya vanished. Which got Ryan and Neil all upset, and even Keith was undone. Yer the one who keeps us sane ya know and ya've been a bit absent the last few weeks."

"She said she was going te try to scare ye a bit," I admitted, feeling my face heat up slightly from Damian's words. "An' I don't have that much power over ye guys. I don' want any power over ye. I'm just missin' Em I think."

"Ye do, "Damian insisted. "I think, what we need is fer ye to stand up to E2, put him in his place and then we can all focus on work again. I think he could be a nice guy and all, but he's so…" I could see him struggling for the right word to describe the newest member.

"Insecure," I finished for him. The word came to me like a lightning strike, and suddenly I understood.

"Bossy, dramatic, and condescending, would be among my choice of adjectives," Damian said.

"Because he's insecure," I said as the new man's behaviours were starting to make more and more sense. "He's the American tryin' to fit in with us. Even though his lineage says otherwise, no matter how much we and he tries to pretend that he's Irish, he's not, and he knows that. We call him the 'newest member'. Em, me and you all came in, or back, as 'brothers'."

"As usual, Colm, yer right," Damo said flashing me his dazzling smile.

"I don' want to be right," I said sulkily. "I'm not George, and I can't take over for him."

"Nobody's askin' ye to take over," Damian said softly, "jus be present, and more than just physically. If ye say things like this, to the group they listen to ye. They always have, we always have."

"Ok," I said as Damo parked the car outside the coffee shop. "I have been distant I guess. I just am not as happy without Emmet here. He was always me soundin' board. I know I have him at home, but not having him there every day, is leavin' me feelin' like my arm has been cut off."

"When I first went to America, I felt like that," Damian assured me as we exited the car. "I don' know how many nights I cried meself te sleep, missin' Keith. It did slowly get better. I got distracted by the competition, then the show, then the touring with Ethan. Maybe it was better because I didn't see Keith every night, but when we did meet up, I was a mess for days after he or I left."

"I don' know how ye did it," I said. "I couldn' be away from Em like that, or for that long. One thing that's fer sure though, I like this Keith a lot more than the Keith we had befer ye came home. That one was sulky, short tempered and never smiled, or played jokes. This one is a hell of a lot of fun!"

Damian laughed his musical laugh again and said as I opened the door to the shop, "Hey Keegan, hands off ok. He's mine."

"Don' worry Damo," I said patting his shoulder. "Me Emmet is enough for me."

We walked up to the order counter.

"Welcome to Starbucks, "said the bored voice of the barista as she turned around from stacking cups. "Holy Shit! Damian McGinty!"

I burst out laughing at the comment, the look on her face and the colour that Damian turned as he bowed his head and covered his face with his hand. "Ye wanted to come with me. Ye didn't think ye'd be recognized?" I snickered.

"It hardly happens here," he said quietly then looked up at the girl who still had a shocked look on her face. "Hi."

"Holy… Sh… Genny get out here, NOW!" she called toward the back of the store.

"Hi," I said trying to divert the attention from Damian. "I'm looking for a Gen…"

"Ya, ya, ya," the barista said fluttering her hand at me, never taking her eyes of Damo.

I couldn't help it, I started laughing again. Damian looked like he wanted to disappear. I wished I had my phone so I could take a picture of that expression. To his credit, the expression was gone in an instant and 'Damian' came through. Not Damian, but 'Damian' almost the character version of himself that he had created in the States.

"I've heard this is the friendliest Starbucks in Dublin," 'Damian' said with a smile. "I can see it has the prettiest Baristas!"

The girl practically swooned, as I rolled my eyes. Another young girl came out of the back with a fake smile on her face which melted into shock when she saw Damian as well. As much as I wanted my phone back, this was far to amusing to miss.

"Colm Keegan," the second girl breathed staring at… me.

It was Damo's turn to chuckle.

"Ummm, y-yes," I stammered. "I'm looking for a Genevieve,"

"Frick!" she said with wide eyes, slowly shaking her head. "Frickin' Colm Keegan, I had your phone in my hands. Frickin' Colm Keegan."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that. I lifted my hand to my mouth to nibble nervously on my fingernail. Damo slapped my hand down, and I tried to focus on my mission again. "Are you Genev…"

"Genny," she interrupted. "Sorry, I didn' get a really good look at ye earlier when it was busy. I just saw 'Cute guy'. I didn't realize it was the hottest half of Celtic Comet! Frick!"

Damian hooted in laughter behind me as the first Barista looked at Genny in disbelief. "Who?" she asked.

"Look," Damo said interrupting. "I'm really sorry, but me friend here, Colm, would like his phone back if you can. The rest of the guys are at home holdin' supper fer us."

"Ye said, yer boyfriend wasn't happy about me askin' fer yer number," Genny said looking from Damo to myself and back again.

"No," I said quickly, "He's not me boyfriend, just one of me best friends."

"Are, ye and Emmet…" she started, "wait, I don' want ta know. Let me grab yer phone fer ye." She was back in a few seconds and handed me my phone. "Tell Emmet, that the two of ye still need to do yer Comet routine. The two of ye singin' Justin Beiber, classic! Ye need to do an album of that, and of Bedtime Stories te. I've got me tickets te come watch CT at the Helix, when ye film yer DVD next month."

"Thank ye," I said taking my phone and slipping it into my pocket. "I really appreciate ye pickin' me phone up fer me. Let me see if I can find some 'meet n' greet' passes fer the concert fer ye. I can drop them by next week."

"Who the hell…" was the last we heard as we nearly ran out the door. Damian clicked his key fob and we jumped in and zipped out of the parking space.

"That was… Awkward," I said as I turned on my phone, wondering what I would need to clear from it.

"Yer not as anonymous as ye thought ye were, Mr. Hottest Half of Celtic Comet!" Damian burst out laughing again.

"That was embarrassing," I admitted with a small laugh. "But I really wish that I had my phone when that girl recognized you! 'Holy Shit! Damian McGinty'" I mimicked.

We were still snickering when we got back to my apartment a few minutes later. We ran into the Thai Palace's delivery guy at the front door. He was trying to push the buzzer button while balancing two bags and a box of food.

"Is that fer Harkin, in Cahill/Keegan?" Damo asked.

"Tis," the guy said in a skeptical tone looking at Damo through squinted eyes.

"I'll pay and take it up," Damian said flashing his smile.

"Don' think so,' Delivery guy said. "I gotta make sure it goes to…" he paused and checked his list.

"4C" I supplied for him. "I'm the Keegan part of the Cahill/Keegan."

"Prove it," Delivery guy said.

I reached into my pocket for my wallet, only to discover it not there. I felt my face turn red.

"Me wallet's in the apartment," I said sheepishly shrugging my shoulders.

"Figured," was the comment.

"Come on Damo," I said pulling my key out of my jacket pocket. "See ye upstairs sir," I finished trying to smile like Damian had.

"Doubtful," was the nasty reply.

"Wow," Damo said as the door closed behind us. "It's food, an ee's protecting it like it was Princess Kate's diamond tiara."

"Interestin' comparison," I said with a laugh. "Thanks fer comin' with me Damo. That was fun."

"If ya think runnin' te Starbucks te pick up yer lost phone is fun, ye need te get out more. Seriously though, we need ta do fun more often," the younger man said with a grin. "We all work so hard that sometimes we ferget that we are young and are supposed to be havin' fun."

"Well some of ye are young," I said playing up the 'old man' part by pretending to hobble up to the door.

"Let me gramps," Damo said reaching toward the lock with my key. The door opened, before he got it into the lock and nearly fell on his face entering.

"Whoa," Keith said with a grin as he caught Damian. "Hey Keegan, it's bad enough ya rearranged poor ol' Emmet's face, let's leave this one all pretty like."

"Oh, ok," I sighed dramatically and slipped past them to find Emmet. I suddenly needed a hug from him. I found him in the living room sitting on the edge of the couch, his elbows on his knees looking blankly at the television, which was turned off. He came back from his daydream as I slipped in front of him and knelt down to his level. I reached toward his already bruising face, but he caught my hand.

"Uh uh," he said. "Ryan's done enough poking at it."

"Ok," I whispered. "Can I at least kiss it better?"

"Y'd better," he whispered back "Its…"  
I cut off whatever he was going to say with a kiss then folded myself into his arms enjoying the warmth and safety of them.

Emmet POV

I don't know what got into Colm and Damian on their little adventure to 'save the phone', but the two of them were goofy all through supper. It was interesting to watch. Colm so seldom let down his guard like that, even with the guys. He was usually much more relaxed with them but this degree was new.

When we were finished eating, we all cleaned everything up and then gathered in the living room for a little jam session. Colm suggested that we call E2 and invite him to join us. Keith had gone down to get his guitar a few minutes earlier and was already plucking away at the strings. Neil was pouting because his 'baby' was at the studio.

"Why?" Ryan asked as he teased CK with Jorja's toy bunny. "Didn't we have enough drama at work today fer ye?"

"Yah," Colm admitted. "But, we need to give him a chance guys. Damo and I talked a bit about this earlier. He made me see that E2, uh Emmett, hasn't been welcomed the way the rest of us newbies were."

"I din' make ye see anythin'," Damian interrupted. "Ye saw it fer yerself, ye just thought I helped."

"Ahh I'm sure ye did help babe," Keith grinned over at Damo and was rewarded with a decorator pillow hitting his shin.

"Ok, whatever," Colm said. "Anyway I'd like to invite him te come over, and keep it really relaxed. I think ees' just insecure. He doesn' know where he fits with us, and really we don' know either. Let's treat him like the brother that he is."

I watched with a smile as all the guys agreed and Colm made the call. It took a little persuading on his part, but soon after he hung up Neil left to pick up his guitar and E2 on the return trip.

"I'm proud of ye," I whispered in my Colm's ear when he returned to sit in front of me. "I love ye."

He turned his blue eyes on me. I could read the worry in them. "Let's just hope this isn't a disaster," he said very softly.

It wasn't a disaster, far from it. Emmett came in with Neil looking a little apprehensive, but after a couple minutes started to warm up. I'm pretty sure the drink that Ryan pressed into his hands a few moments after he arrived didn't hurt either.

We started out with a couple of oldies, playing with the sound a bit. Emmett sounded a little like Paul had. His accent was completely different than ours, so the more traditional Irish songs sounded a little odd coming from him, but to his credit he knew them all. He had done his homework.

"So what would be yer favourite song te sing?" I asked Emmett as Neil and Keith packed up their guitars a few hours later.

"CT song?" Emmett asked, looking a little worried.

"Not necessarily," I said. "I came in with a great deal of classical pieces, but fer me it was when Phil gave me 'Kindred Spirits', which I ended up singing for years. I love that song."

"I like your 'Danny Boy'," Damian said. "I sang parts of it when I was with CT the first time, but really Em, its yer song."

"I wouldn't even try that one," Emmett said looking over at me. "It's too Irish."

"Yer gonna hafta git over that," Keith said as he flopped down on the couch next to Damo. "This is a predominantly Irish group that yer with. We're gonna have Irish songs."

"Oh I understand that," Emmett said quickly. "It's just that particular song. I'm 100% Irish in my blood, but I don't feel qualified for that one. It's a deeply personal song for many people, and I'm not convinced that I could do it justice."

"Sharon's really good at matching songs to our personalities," I said. "Sometimes though, it's hard in the big group numbers. I had to take over a few of Damo's parts when I first came. It wasn't fun. I kept comparin' meself te him. It nearly drove me crazy until I realized that yes, he was a fan favourite, but in a lot of cases, the fans love the songs as much as they love us, uh, them. I stopped tryin' to be Damo and let my own personality in. As soon as I did that, and she could see who I was, Sharon started handin' me parts all over the place.

"It was weird fer me te come back," Damian admitted. "Em had me parts in many of the numbers and I wasn't sure about taking them back or tryin' te do George's parts. It was a bit scary, but we managed to make it work."

"That's one of the nicest thins' about Celtic Thunder," Colm said from his place in front of me. "We all work together, give suggestions and take them. We love what we do and we're lucky to do what we love. It may not seem like it te ye right now Emmett, but we're all brothers, all six of us. Oh, and him too, even though he abandoned us." He turned those stunning eyes up to me again and gave me a wink. "Unfortunately fer ye, we are havin' a hard time transitionin' to this new CT. We lost George, but regained Damo, we lost Emmet, but we gained ye. We will all be stronger for the changes, but we will have to work on it. I'm sorry fer the way we've been actin' the last few weeks Emmett, ye didn' do anythin' to deserve it. I know that you'll see a different side of us Monday."

"Monday?" Neil said as he started strapping Jorja into her car seat. "Don'cha mean tomorrow?"

"Sharon gave me the day off!" Colm said smugly.

"Well, guys, I don't have the day off tomorrow," I said with a little laugh. "So I'm calling it a night."

"Yes, we have to go too," Keith said with a little yawn. "Drop ye off E?"

"Thanks," Emmett said. "And thanks to you, Colm and Emmet. It was a good night. I'm glad I came."

"It was good to really meet ye'." I said standing and taking Colm's hand, pulled him to his feet.

"It was," Ryan said as he covered Jorja with a little purple blanket.

We saw our guests to the door and after a few confusing exchanges between Damian and Colm, somthin' about 'hottest half' and 'Damian McGinty', done in really high pitched tones, we closed the door.

"Finally," Colm said and turned into my arms.

"Ye really are their natural leader," I said as I pulled him close to me and gently kissed his lips.

"No," he objected with a sigh, "I'm just me."

"You're amazing," I said kissing him again.

"Come with me, Mr. Cahill, and I'll show you just how amazing I can be!" my Colm said in a seductive voice.

He took my hand, led me into our bedroom and we closed the door behind us.

LOTPLOTPLOTPLOTPLOTPLOTPLOTPLTOP

Thanks for sticking through this one. I know it was long. I'm not sure I'm 100% happy with it; I hope it wasn't too confusing.

Constructive criticism is appreciated, flames not so much. Every mistake and correction is learning for me.

This is probably it for a bit, so see you around!

Norla


End file.
